Riyadh: Saudi Arabia-based management consultancy TAM Development Co. is planning an initial public offering later this year, in a test of whether investor demand for new share sales will carry through from last year.
TAM is planning to list on the Kingdom's small cap market, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Yousef said in an interview. It will look to be upgraded to the main exchange within two years, he said. The consultancy derives most of its revenue from advising the Saudi government and government-related entities linked to its sovereign fund, the Public Investment Fund.
Yousef declined to comment on the company's expected valuation but said it was growing rapidly and it already has contracts booked for this year representing 20 per cent revenue growth. TAM's financial data wasn't publicly available.
Saudi Arabia was part of an IPO boom that swept the Middle East last year on the back of economic expansion and strong investor demand. Listings in the region accounted for about half of the proceeds in all of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as deals elsewhere collapsed under the pressures of high inflation and rising interest rates.
"We still have very high growth prospects over the next two years, and we're not planning to go to the market with a crazy valuation, so we don't think the recent volatility in the market will affect us too much," he said. "There's still a lot of demand out there from investors."
TAM was founded about 10 years ago by Yousef, now 35, after graduating from McMaster University in Canada. The company appointed Careem Inc. co-founder Abdulla Elyas to its board in December.
